Epilogue
Two years later
A sh’s daughter stirred in his right-armed grip, lightly butting his chin but fortunately not disturbing his newborn son, who was sleeping in the crook of his left arm. At only a few hours old, Edward James Ashworth was already the most handsome child Ash had ever seen.
Next to him on the bed, his wife was holding their surprise daughter, a twin for Edward nobody had been expecting, but who was already as adored as her siblings. ‘We make such beautiful children,’ murmured Amelia.
‘I was thinking exactly that,’ he whispered back.
‘They’re even more lovely when they’re asleep.’
Ash shook with silent laughter. He couldn’t help but agree with his wife’s assessment of the situation.
Amelia and he had married quietly in the country and had stayed there until their first daughter was born. It had been easier that way, to hide that she’d already been pregnant when they’d wed. It hadn’t stopped the ribald jokes from his friends, but they only teased him about it when it was only the four of them. As far as the rest of the world knew, Ash and Amelia were as respectable as they appeared, and the forbidden summer in her garden had never happened.
It hadn’t all been easy. Ash still had nightmares, but at least when he woke, Amelia was there to take away the edge of his horror and remind him that he was now safe and well, that he was loved, that those he loved were thriving. Sometimes he faced the recurring feeling that he was letting people down but Amelia was always there to remind him of everything he had done, and he was able to believe her.
He regularly wrote her letters. He always sent them. Even though they lived in the same house and the messages were often not more than a line. He loved to watch her smile as she read them and the way the tip of her tongue poked out as she penned a reply.
‘How often do you think this miracle will occur?’ Amelia whispered.
‘That they are all asleep at the same time?’
She nodded.
‘I think this will be the last time.’
Her eyes widened and he brushed her forehead with his lips. She smiled softly and gazed back down at their sleeping children. ‘I’m so grateful for them.’
‘I know, my love.’
‘But I would like to sleep now.’ The labour hadn’t been as long as it had been with Sophie, but six hours was long enough, and his wife’s eyelids were drooping. Sophie stirred in his arms once more; she would be awake soon. ‘Rest, my love. I will watch over you all.’
Sleep for him was probably a thing of the past but he didn’t care. He didn’t want to miss a single moment of his life.
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